BERMUDA'S FIRST SOLO CIRCUMNAVIGATOR
12th May 2003

When Alan Paris sailed into Newport late yesterday afternoon, he brought to an end the mad rush of finishes that has had race officials and fans scrambling to keep up the pace since Bernard Stamm's dawn arrival a little over a week ago. Now there is a bit of a respite before Derek Hatfield on Spirit of Canada gets here. The Around Alone is drawing to a end, but it will not be over until Hatfield and his plucky 40 footer have safely crossed the finish line and tied up at Newport Shipyard. There is a feeling of disbelief in the air as the skippers, shore teams and race officials tie up loose end and start making plans for the rest of their lives.

Alan's finish was yet another high point in a week of high points and for those of us who have followed Alan's progress around the world it was a spectacular end to a long and sometimes difficult circumnavigation. The first we saw of BTC Velocity was a tiny sail surging towards the finish on a wind tossed ocean. All of the boats look small from a distance, but BTC Velocity still looked small even from close up, the bow cutting through the seas with Alan back aft waving the Bermudian flag and sporting a new beard. He really did look as if he had been at sea for a long time, but his boat looked as good as new, the bright yellow topsides and graphics in stark contrast to the dark water laced with an occasional whitecap. A small armada of spectator boats braved the late afternoon cold to witness history; when Alan crossed the finish he became the first Bermudian to solo circumnavigate. "Bermuda has a long and rich maritime history and I am very proud to have added something to it. We are a small nation closely linked to the sea," Alan said at his press conference shortly after arriving back on dry.

The final leg of the race was not without its difficulties. A few days into the leg BTC Velocity collided with a whale sending the skipper flying into the nav station where a couple of his ribs connected with a sharp edge. "I was worried that I might have done some real damage or punctured a lung and it concerned me even more when I knew that the closest land was the mouth of the Amazon river a hundred miles to the west." Fortunately a steady diet of pain killers and sailing conservatively allowed Paris to finish the race without any real damage.

Looking back over his circumnavigation Alan talked about the high points of his journey. "When my face was 2 feet away from the water as I was clinging to the mast trying to reef the main in 50 knots of wind passing Cape Horn, and the boat got knocked down…that was the high point!" he said. "Shortly thereafter I experienced one of the most beautiful moments of the trip. Being at Cape Horn felt like I was in a place I shouldn't be. It was frightening and stunning at the same time. If you've been down there you'll know."

One of the reasons Alan Paris's story is so compelling is that, like Tim Kent, it would seem that there was not much in his past that could have prepared Alan for the trials and tribulations of a solo trip around the world. Alan's "former" career was as a hotel manager, not just any hotel but the stunning Ariel Sands Hotel in Bermuda, the one owned by Michael Douglas. Paris disagrees with that assessment. "In my 18 years of working in the hotel industry you learn to be prepared for anything," he said. "You learn to be ready to react immediately to any situation, which is exactly the same way you have to deal with situations at sea. The difference is that I normally have a team with me in the hotel so suddenly having to do everything by myself was a real change!"

Perhaps dealing with the vacationing public is what gave Alan his easygoing and very charming nature. I know that I am not alone in my assessment that Alan Paris is a true gentleman. The other skippers have said the same about this mild mannered sailor whose sense of humor never deserted him. No matter how grim the conditions Alan was always upbeat as he and his small 40 footer soldiered on towards the finish of each leg. Now the race is behind him Alan can count himself among a very small, very elite group of sailors who have sailed around the world alone. Well done Alan, and welcome home.

--- Brian Hancock great.circle@verizon.net

Source: Around Alone Official Site